Representative image of children at a madrasa.
Credit: iStock Photo
Mysuru: The Mysuru Deputy Commissioner is all set to submit his report before the Karnataka High Court over the Haleema Sadiya Trust madarasa in Kyathamaranahalli of Mysuru city, following a second meeting of the stakeholders of the trust and leaders of the locality on Tuesday.
The High Court will resume the hearing on a writ petition regarding the reopening of the madarasa that was closed in 2016, following a communal clash, due to the murder of a Hindu activist.
After the meeting, Hindu leader Shivakumar said, the status quo should be maintained. “Both Hindus and Muslims reside in the locality. None should be affected. It is a residential locality. So, neither a mosque nor a school be operated from the site in question. It may cause a rift between the communities. Their school or madarasa can be opened elsewhere,” he said.
Former corporator and Muslim leader K C Showkath Pasha said, “The issue is already before the court. We are not building a mosque on that site, we intend to run a madarasa as per our Constitutional rights. We have appealed to our Hindu brothers, to allow this. I hope they will listen”.
“The hearing before the Court is on Thursday and the DC, G Lakshmikanth Reddy, will submit a report on the basis of the opinion expressed in the meeting. Let us see what the court decides,” he said.
Pasha said, “Haleema Sadiya Trust was constructing a building on Site No ½ and 1/3, on 6th Cross of Kyathamaranahalli, for an Arabic madrassa, after obtaining a license from the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC). In 2009, some miscreants threw a pig's head on its premises, causing a communal disturbance, forcing to stop the construction. The then Police Commissioner, Sunil Agarwal, called a peace committee meeting in 2010, to permit the trust to continue the project, with some guidelines. However, due to various reasons, the committee could not meet and the issue was pending up to 2013”.
Pasha said, “In 2013, a meeting was held and the differences were resolved. The construction continued and the madrassa was opened. It operated till March 13, 2016, when Raju, a Hindu activist, was murdered in Udayagiri, leading to communal clashes. A few miscreants pelted stones at the Madrasa, damaging the windows panes”.
He said, “On March 14, 2016, the Police arrived, collected the key of the building from one of our trustees, telling them that they wanted to see the damages. After that, instead of returning the key, they took the building into their custody. After several meetings with the DC and Police Commissioner, we filed a Writ Petition before the High Court. The court has ordered the DC to resolve the issue within 12 weeks”.
Pasha added, “Although the DC is satisfied with the Revenue records, the Police Commissioner is apprehensive that there may be law and order problems.
Simha unnecessarily raked up the issue, by challenging Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, to open the mosque, warning of dire consequences, on March 11."